


Unlikely Friendship

by opal_sapphire



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Car Accidents, F/M, M/M, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-17
Updated: 2019-03-16
Packaged: 2019-11-21 03:56:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 4,086
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18136910
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/opal_sapphire/pseuds/opal_sapphire
Summary: Thor chooses you to watch over Loki while he's gone.  Now it's just you and the Trickster.  What the hell did get yourself into?





	1. Chapter 1

When Thor asked you to keep an eye on Loki while he dealt with some “business” (his words), you were surprised. And also dead set against it. Absolutely not. You would not have Loki, of all people, in the same apartment as you. But when Thor gave you his best puppy dog eyes, you knew you were screwed.

You tried resisting, but that was mostly for the sake of appearance. You knew it, Thor knew it, you were pretty sure Loki knew it too. Finally, you sighed and let them in.

“You owe me big time,” you’d said.

“You won’t regret it,” Thor had replied. You had a hard time believing that.

Loki had only been here a day and he’d managed to insult you more times than you cared to count. First your apartment, then your apparent lack of entertainment, oh and let’s not forget that you’re a mortal, and mortals are beneath him.

He was in the middle of one of these superiority rants right now. Except you’d had enough. Tuning him out wasn’t working anymore.

“Okay, look,” you snapped. “You don’t wanna be here, I don’t want you here. You don’t like me, I don’t like you. But here we are. Whining about it isn’t going to do any good, so just shut up.”

“Who do you think you are?” Loki spat.

“I’m Y/N Y/L/N, and you’re the asshole God of Mischief with a superiority complex who’s gonna shut up. I don’t care who you are. I don’t care what you’ve done. You’re stuck here, whether you like it or not. So you can either be miserable, or, here’s an idea, deal with it! Either way, I really do not care as long as you stop your incessant whining.”

He didn’t appreciate that. Not one bit. The look on his face told you that much. You never really understood the phrase “if looks could kill” until this moment, because if they could you were almost positive you’d be dead right now.

On the other hand, you were not about to back down. You held Loki’s gaze. It felt like the stare down would go on forever. Until he flicked his hand at you. You raised your eyebrows a little.

“The hell was that?” You asked.

He did it again and you realized what he was trying to do. You smiled. “Yeah, your magic isn’t gonna work. I called in a favor from a friend when I first moved in. No aggressive magic allowed unless I willingly say so. And I don’t say so.”

You glanced at the clock: nearly midnight.

“Goodnight,” you said, not giving him a chance to respond.

Curling up under the covers, you wondered just what the hell you’d gotten yourself into.


	2. Chapter 2

Four days later, you had not been able to sleep. At least, not well. So you decided drastic times called for drastic measures, and you took a sleep aid.

One of the few rules you’d put in place was that Loki not enter your room without your permission. You did not want your privacy invaded. So when you woke up from a good night’s sleep, sprawled across your bed, you were not expecting to see Loki standing next to the bed with his arms crossed.

You shrieked and jumped back. You freaked a little, which caused your book to fly off, frozen, from the bedside table in Loki’s general direction. Not that it hit him. You might, though.

“What the hell?!” You demanded.

“Relax,” he said. “I was just checking on you. You weren’t up at your usual time.”

You blinked and looked at your alarm clock: 11:00. Well, hell. You usually got up at eight so you’d fall asleep on time.

Wait.

Did Loki just say he was checking on you? Surely not. It was probably just your groggy mind playing tricks on you.

“I slept in, so you decided to check on me?” You asked.

He nodded, then narrowed his eyes at you. “Why is your book frozen?”

“Shower first, questions later,” you replied, making shooing motions with your hand.

After Loki left your room, you contemplated things in the shower. The two of you had somehow managed to be somewhat decent to each other. You weren’t sure how much longer that would last, but you weren’t complaining. And then there was this morning. Did he actually care enough to be concerned about you? At least, enough to check on you when you strayed from your routine? Or was he just seeing if he had a get-out-of-jail-free card? Debating on all this was beginning to give you a headache, so you just chalked it up to a one-time thing.

You went to the living room after your shower, hair still damp. Loki was reading a book on the couch, and looked up when you walked in. The kitchen was separated from the living room by only a counter, so you grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge.

Though you spent most of your shower time thinking about Loki and his intentions, some of it was also dedicated to deciding whether or not to tell him what you could do. Only the Avengers knew. No one else. You supposed it would come out sooner or later, however. Or maybe it wouldn’t, and Thor would be back in just a minute, giving you a decent excuse to escape this conversation.

But in the time it took you to open the fridge, grab the bottle, pull it out and close the fridge, there was no thunder to be heard. Feeling Loki’s eyes on the back of your head, you took a deep breath and walked over to him.

You opened the bottle, threw the contents at him and waved your hand.

“Are you mad?!” He yelped, jumping off the couch. His expression went from shocked outrage to shocked curiosity in less than two seconds. Probably the fastest shift you’d seen so far.

The water had been turned to ice in midair. So was the bottle, which was still in your hand. You let go, and it stayed suspended with the rest of the ice.

“Cryokinesis,” you said.

Loki looked at you, and you couldn’t tell if he was actually impressed or if he was faking it. Based on experience, you guessed the latter.

You gripped your hand into a fist, and the beautiful frozen spray rearranged itself into a beautiful, deadly collection of ice blades. The tips of which were pointed at Loki. You moved your pointer finger in a circle, and the blades turned. You flicked your wrist and sent them flying into the kitchen, where they hit a cabinet and clattered in the sink.

You picked the now-empty bottle off the ground, not minding how cold it was, and tossed it in the trash. You heard clapping behind you. You turned and gave a little bow, unable to keep a small smile from forming on your face.  
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
That night you were unable to sleep yet again. You padded out into the kitchen, making sure to keep quiet. You didn’t want to disturb Loki. You grabbed a bottle of water and sat on the couch. You sat sideways and leaned your head against the back of it. You hated this. You just wanted to sleep. You didn’t want to have to take something every night. Was getting a decent night’s sleep really too much to ask?

Tired and frustrated, you got back up and put the unopened bottle back in the fridge. You closed the door and screamed, an ice baseball bat forming in your hand. You swung it, but the person caught it. You formed another in your other hand, and they caught that one as well. You yanked them back towards you and slammed your knee in their abdomen. You dissolved the bats and tried to punch them, but they caught your hand. You tried slamming your head against their, but they put their other hand on your forehead, forcing your head back.

You gasped and your eyes rolled back in your head. Memories flashed through your mind, painful memories you thought you’d destroyed a long time ago.

The burglar, dead on the floor, ice blade sticking out of their chest. Your parents across the room the same way. Your screams echoed in your mind, your eyes burned, the lump in your throat so tight you thought you would choke on it, and you realized you wouldn’t mind, not if this would stop, please make it stop, please–

The hand on your forehead went away. You stumbled back against the stove and bent over. Tears were streaming down your cheeks. Your stomach was churning. Your head ached. The lump was gone, but your throat felt raw, like you had actually been screaming. You looked up.

Loki was standing there, shock and guilt written on his face. He took a step toward you.

“Don’t,” you rasped. He froze. You straightened and clenched your fists. “When Thor comes back to get you, don’t ever come back. Until then you stay the hell away from me.”

You went to your room, leaving Loki standing there and wondering what the hell he’d just done.


	3. Chapter 3

You stumbled into the bathroom the next morning. Your reflection showed red and puffy eyes and a drawn face. You’d cried yourself to sleep last night, only to be plagued by nightmares. You cried yourself to sleep again, and the cycle continued until you were staring at the ceiling, the night’s events replaying in your mind.

When you’d closed the fridge, a dark figure seemed to have magically appeared. Scared, you went with your first instinct: attack. It hadn’t occurred to you that it could’ve been Loki. You’ve been living alone for so long…

But what the hell was that move? Making you relive your worst memory?

You splashed some cold water on your face. You didn’t want to think about it, so you weren’t going to. But there was still one problem: Loki still lived with you, and there was no telling when he would leave. You’d told him to stay away from you until then, but it’s not like your apartment was huge. You couldn’t avoid each other forever. But you could still do it now.

You took a shaky deep breath and darted from the bathroom to your bedroom. You closed the door just as you heard another open. You assumed it was Loki. 

Now you were conflicted. On one hand, you were still pissed about that weird thing he did. On the other, you felt like you should apologize for freaking out and maybe give a general explanation…or maybe just apologize and forget explaining.

You flopped on your bed and groaned into a pillow. There were way too many things for you to think about.  
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
You were in that weird state where you’re nearly asleep, but still aware of things going on around you, and it almost seems dreamlike. You were aware that you were in bed, laying on your right side and facing towards the window and away from the door. You were barely aware of the covers draped over you.

 

“I know you’re asleep, but I’m hoping this somehow makes it into your dreams,” a voice whispered. Weird. It sounded like Loki. "I know you’re adamant about me not being in here without your permission, but I think it can be overlooked this time. I didn’t mean to frighten you, Y/N. And I know you must despise me, especially after what I did with your mind, but I am truly sorry.“

You were more awake now. Not by much, considering you’d taken a sleep aid, but enough to realize that this wasn’t a dream. You turned over to you left side. Loki was sitting on the edge of your bed, eyes wide.

"Do you mean it?” You mumbled. "The apology, I mean.“

"Yes,” he said after a moment.

You gave a small smile.

“Go to sleep now,” he said, standing.

“Loki?”

He stopped.

Maybe it was because you were tired, or because of the sleep aid, or who knows what else. All you knew was that you didn’t want to be alone right now. So, not giving yourself a chance to think about it, you went for it.

“Please stay.”

Loki blinked. Out of all the things to come out of your mouth, he hadn’t been expecting that. You moved over. He pulled back the covers and got in next to you.

You weren’t sure what to do now. You hadn’t thought this far ahead. But you were so tired you honestly didn’t care anymore.

“Thank you,” you whispered, closing your eyes.

You were vaguely aware of Loki wrapping an arm around you and pulling you to his chest. You let out a content sigh and drifted off.


	4. Chapter 4

A quiet knock startled you awake at one a.m. two nights later. You got out of bed and opened the door. Loki was on the other side, looking…somewhat sheepish?

“What’s wrong?” You asked.

“Nothing,” he replied. "I was only wondering if you had any books I could borrow. I can’t sleep, and I’ve run out.“

You blinked. "Uh, okay.”

You walked over to your bookcase. You glanced over each spine, making sure you were reading the titles right since you were half asleep. You grabbed one and handed it to him.

“ _Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone?_ ” Loki read, glancing back at you.

“Trust me, it’s good,” you insisted.

He looked at the book, then back at you. "Thank you.“

You nodded.

"Goodnight, Y/N.”

“Goodnight, Loki.”

That was how the rest of his stay went. The two of you would sit in the living room reading most of the time. You managed to get Loki up to _Prisoner of Azkaban_ when thunder suddenly crashed that afternoon. Not long after, a knock resounded through the apartment.

You went to the door and smiled at Thor, letting him in.

“Is everyone still alive?” He joked.

“Surprisingly,” you replied.

It seemed Loki couldn’t wait another moment to get out. He barely spared you a second glance when he and Thor walked out the door.

You sighed and looked around. Your apartment seemed empty now. You felt…alone. Very alone. You sighed again. You knew this whole thing would be temporary. You knew it was going to end. And yet…

You decided not to dwell on it and made yourself busy with every conceivable chore you could do. On the coffee table in the living room, _Prisoner of Azkaban_ lay forgotten.


	5. Chapter 5

Suffice to say you were shocked a month later when you looked through the peephole in your front door and saw Loki. You opened the door, eyebrows raised. "Loki?“

"Hello, Y/N,” he replied.

You let him in. “Uh, what’re you doing here?”

“It occurred to me that I never finished the books about that boy,” he replied, making himself at home on your couch.

You smiled a little. You went and got _Prisoner of Azkaban_ from your bookshelf and handed it to him.

 

Loki stayed with you for a week and finished the rest of the series. He wasn’t happy about all the deaths that occurred, particularly in _Order of the Phoenix_ and _Deathly Hallows._ Then he left again.

A pattern began to emerge. Once a month Loki would show up at your door and stay for at least a week. You enjoyed it, and you assumed he did too. He was, after all, coming back of his own volition, that much he made clear.

It wasn’t until three years later that things started going wrong.

Whenever Loki came anymore, he was…tense. He kept snapping at you, something he hadn’t really done since you first met. You figured he was just having a bad time, but enough was enough.

“Hey, do you want a sandwich?” You asked from the kitchen.

“No, I’d much rather starve,” Loki snapped.

You slammed the lunch meat on the counter and glared at him. "Okay, I have been patient with you this whole week. I don’t know why the hell you’re so pissy, but stop taking it out on me.“

"Or what?”

“Or I’ll make you.”

He scoffed. "I’d like to see you try.“

You walked over to him and flicked your wrist. A sheet of ice appeared over his mouth like duct tape. Not able to stand another second, you grabbed your car keys and stormed out.

Driving while angry isn’t a good idea. You knew this. You were just so pissed at Loki though. You slowed to a stop for a red light. The moment it turned green, you started normal. No reason to floor it at a light. It was more exhilarating to build the speed up. At least, that was the plan.

You were in the middle of the intersection when headlights blinded you on your right. Before you knew it, you were flying through the air, and it all went black.


	6. Chapter 6

There was a sharp beeping on your left that wouldn’t go away. Your limbs felt heavy. Your ribs hurt, a dull ache that softly pulsed in time to your heartbeat. In time to the beeping. You wiggled your fingers and toes. You squinted your eyes open, wincing at the harsh light.

“Y/N?”

You looked to your right. Loki was sitting next to you, concern etched on his face.

“Loki.” Your voice was hoarse. "What happened?“

"You were in an accident,” he explained. "A vehicle disregarded the red light and drove straight into you.“

"I’m in the hospital?”

“Yes.”

Panic flooded your veins. “I can’t be here, have they taken my blood? Once they find out what I am they’ll start running tests because my DNA will show them I’m different and they won’t understand–”

“Y/N.” Loki took your hand. The temperature in the room had dropped dramatically, and you noticed a thin sheet of ice creeping up the IV line.

“Y/N, look at me. You are alright. You are safe. I won’t let anyone hurt you. But you must calm down, because this machine shows your heartbeat, and will tell them that you’re in distress. You’re alright, Y/N.”

You managed to calm your breathing. The temperature normalized, and the ice retreated just as a nurse came in.  
\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
A week later you were home. Loki helped you inside the apartment, one arm wrapped gingerly around your waist. Your arm was around his shoulders. You sat on the barstool at the kitchen counter and sighed.

“Alright, what’s wrong?” You asked, holding your side.

Loki had been quiet the ride home, which isn’t unusual, except you could tell–by his tight grip on the steering wheel and carefully neutral expression–that he was angry.

“Your actions were entirely uncalled for,” he hissed.

You blinked. “What are you talking about?”

“Setting off at ridiculous speeds nearly got you killed, Y/N!”

“Hey,” you interrupted. "I stopped at the red light and went at the green. I didn’t take off like a bat outta Hell, either. It’s not my fault some jackass ran their red light, so calm the hell down, Loki.“

"You Midgardians are always so foolish, thinking you’re invincible, when in reality you’re weak and expendable.”

“Excuse me?!” You shrieked, sliding off the stool. "Weak and expendable, really? If that’s what you really think, why the hell are you still here?“

"You clearly cannot take care of yourself.”

“It’s not the first time I’ve been injured. I did fine then, I’ll do just fine now. If you really despise me so much, Loki, why don’t you just leave?”

You stormed off to your room and slammed the door behind you.

When you got breakfast in the morning, Loki wasn’t there.


	7. Chapter 7

A week passed. Then a month. Then a year. When the fourth year passed, you finally came to accept that Loki wasn’t coming back.

You felt horrible. He was your only friend, who obviously cared about you enough to show up at the hospital, and you’d basically told him to piss off. Of course, that didn’t mean what he’d said was excusable, either. But now you wouldn’t get a chance to apologize.

To make yourself feel better, you decided to make some cookies. Sweets always cheered you up. You put on some music and set to work. Only happy songs were allowed. Sad songs were the opposite of what you needed right now. Sappy songs were okay. Hell, even angry ones. You could always use the excuse to vent some of your stress and frustration.

You noticed it when you hit ‘Start’ on the timer. A gold shimmer out of the corner of your eye. You looked, but didn’t see anything–or anyone–unusual. You turned the music down a little. Nothing happened.

A couple songs later you let yourself get into the music again. The first batch just finished, so you set the cookies on the cooling rack. The second batch went in, you hit 'Start'—there it was again.

You whipped your head around. Nothing. You looked all around, but couldn’t find the shimmer again. You were beginning to question your sanity.

When it came time to put the third batch in, you paid closer attention. And apparently not enough to what you were doing, because you accidentally touched the rack inside the oven. You hissed, dropping the cookie sheet and raced to the sink. The cold water instantly soothed your fingertips.

You glanced back at the oven and were relieved to see that you hadn’t really dropped the cookie sheet. More like shoved. It was sitting on the rack at an angle, half in and half out of the oven.

Turning the water off, you grabbed the potholder you’d definitely dropped and, making sure you were well-guarded against the inside of the oven this time, you fixed the cookie sheet. You started the timer and sighed, tossing the potholder on the counter.

“You should be more careful in the future.”

You froze. _No way._

“What, no greeting?”

You slowly turned around. Loki was sitting at the counter, that stupid smirk plastered on his face.

“Loki?” You whispered.

“I thought it was time I visited again. It’s been–did you really just throw a wooden spoon at me?”

You really did. You had to be sure he was actually here and not a magical projection. The spoon had made direct contact with his forehead, so you figured it was safe to assume Loki was here.

To be honest you weren’t quite sure what to do. Part of you wanted to yell at him for disappearing for four years, and the other wanted to launch yourself at him and never let go. All of you, however, unanimously agreed that you wanted to apologize.

“Y/N?”

You blinked. Loki was now standing in front of you. When the hell did he do that? Oh well, doesn’t matter.

Foregoing the launching part, you wrapped your arms around him and hugged him fiercely.

“I’m sorry,” you breathed.

You felt Loki’s arms wrap around you and relaxed.

“All is forgiven,” he said.

You pulled away slightly to look him in the eye. "Really?“

He nodded. "Really. Now,” he added, “unless you’ve developed a taste for burnt food, I suggest you take your cookies out of the oven.”

You cursed and did just that.  
\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
BONUS  
You: “WhAT HAPPENED TO YOUR EYE?!”

Thor: “Our older sister took it out.”

You: “WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR HAIR?!”

Thor: “A creepy old man cut it.”  
\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Thor: “And when Banner asked Loki how he felt about killing people–”

Loki: “It varies from moment to moment.”

You: “LOKI YOU SOUND LIKE A PSYCHO.”  
\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Thor: “And then I told the story of the time when Loki transformed himself into a snake and he knows I love snakes, so I went to pick up the snake to admire it and he transformed back into himself and went ‘BLEH IT’S ME’ and stabbed me. We were eight at the time.”

Loki: “Y/N, it’s not that funny.”

You, wheezing: “YES IT IS!”  
\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
You: “I’m sorry, you did what?”

Thor: “Get help.”

You: “What’s that?”

A moment later

Loki: “Y/N it’s not funny.”

You: “HE JUST CHUCKED YOU ACROSS THE ROOM OF COURSE IT’S FUNNY.”

Thor: “Would you like to try?”

You: “No thank you Thor I am good.”  
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Loki: “Y/N–”

You: “YOU WENT THROUGH THE DEVIL’S ANUS IN AN ORGY SHIP LIKE IT WAS JUST ANOTHER TUESDAY OF COURSE IT’S FUNNY LOKI.”


End file.
